THEM: RAPTURE (Book Two)

Chapter Five

     Brock knew that the journey out into the waste as far as they had to go would be dangerous. Even more so than any of the journeys he had made before. He knew that if he would do this he could not count on his friends, they were good, but they did not have the skills that would be needed for such a trip. There was only one man that could be relied on for such a task and that person was Rick. He found the enigmatic man in the makeshift mess hall, sitting alone in a room full of people.

"Rick, I was looking for you," Brock commented.

"Well, I am a man who prides myself in my ability not to be found." Rick replied. "I guess you are lucky in this regard."

"We are going deep out into the waste," Brock began. "We have a destination, but it is in an area that we have not been able to go for a long time."

"And you want me to go there and get something for you?" Rick asked. "I suppose I could do it."

"I want you to take me with you," Brock suggested. "We can go together."

"I don't think so," Rick replied. "I go alone or not at all."

"But you trained me back when we met," Brock stated. "And you have helped my friends, teaching them how to better survive out here?"

"Those are just pointers really," Rick admitted. "The kind of travel and things that I might have to teach you would be too much out there. I am best n my own. I do not need a disciple."

"You know how fast I learn!" Brock insisted. "I can keep up."

"Right after the fall of, everything there was one who said the same," Rick began. "A young woman who seemed to have a knack for survival. She claimed that she could keep up with me and she also claimed that she would not be a burden. I was encouraged by her and taught her all that I knew."

"However, I learned something and that is the only person I can rely on is myself. I told her that if I got in trouble, she was to ignore it and stay safe. I had a bit of a close call and she came for me. She was taken and I was not. I swore then and there that I would let no one else risk what I risk."

"Yeah well that's not really how it works bud," Brock insisted. "We are all at risk here every single day. You pretend that if you push people away it makes them safe, but it doesn't. If we are going to die in all this, we are going to die. You can either try to do the right thing or you can just ignore it and pretend you are in the right."

     Brock stormed off, preparing to make the trip himself. He packed his things and prepared to leave in the morning. He got up with the son and headed to one of the gates that lead out to the waste. Waiting for him was Rick. He was packed and geared as if ready to go.

"Rick?" Brock asked in shock. "What are you doing here?"

Rick sighed. "Well, I figured if you were going out there to potentially get killed anyway, I might as well try and keep it from happening right away."

Brock laughed. "Glad you have you with me. Let's go!"

     After leaving the bunker the world outside was like a chaotic mess. Brock had done a lot of travelling out in what was left of the world. He knew but it was easy to forget what it was like in the bunker. The aliens came and it was thought that the worst thing was them with their weapons and their technology. These were the things that hurt the humans most but there was more to it. 

     The aliens were capable of breathing on the human planet but seemed to have more needs. It was like settlers of old coming to a new land. Though there was soil and potable water, they longed for the things that were familiar. They brought their own crops and animals, some of which created a devastating change in the landscape once introduced. The aliens did the same, some things they manually transplanted, pumping foreign air into the atmosphere and corrupting the flora and fauna. Thy also introduced their own, ravenous plants killing off what was before them as they took hold.